Inside the ancient stronghold, the air was still and heavy with incense. Talia and Slade stood before Ra's al Ghul, who sat cross-legged on a woven mat, a cup of steaming tea resting in his hand. His composure was the very image of patience and control.
"Father," Talia began, her tone measured, "the attempt to recruit Tobi has failed. He expressed clear discontent with our methods and implied that, should we continue with our goals, we might find ourselves overstepping boundaries."
Ra's sipped his tea in silence for a moment, then set the cup down gently. "And what is your assessment of him?" he asked. "Few men turn their backs on the promise of power."
Talia straightened slightly. "He seems confident in his own abilities to accomplish whatever he desires. He made it clear that he has no grand ambition—no empire to build or world to reshape. He's simply… eliminating those he considers beyond redemption."
Her gaze shifted briefly before she continued. "However, he appears deeply attached to the young girl he was with. I suspect she may have blood ties to him. That connection could be exploited."
Ra's slowly shook his head. "No. That path is far too dangerous and unlikely to succeed. I know the League's capabilities—and my own—better than anyone. And I can say with certainty that, at this moment, there is nothing we can do to truly threaten him. Even a nuclear strike failed to harm him."
Slade stepped forward, his tone pragmatic. "If I may speak," he said, and Ra's inclined his head.
"No one is truly invincible. With proper planning and intelligence gathering, I'm certain Tobi can be taken down."
Ra's allowed himself a small, almost wistful smile. "Perhaps. But the problem lies not in whether he can fall, but in the means to ensure it. Allowing Pride to cloud your judgement is a death sentence, Slade ,I've lived as long as I have not because of the Lazarus Pit alone, but because I understand my limits—and I know when to swallow my pride. That is why I always live to fight another day .I thought I had educated you better."
"I see" Slade muttered In a neutral tones but his shaking fists betrayed his calm facade.
"What is our next course of action then?" Talia asked.
Ra's exhaled softly, looking toward the flickering shadows along the wall.
"It is a shame that Tobi does not see the world as we do. But nothing can be done to change his mind. For now, we leave him be… and continue our work from the shadows, as we always have."
"With his recent actions, Tobi has gained a great deal of attention — and enemies. In time, one of them shall deal with him. If not, we'll simply wait until the day he succumbs to old age before we strike," Ra's said, his tone calm but calculating.
"As if that would work."
A cold, unfamiliar voice echoed through the chamber.
A man stepped out of the shadows — tall, wearing a white cloak and a white mask etched with concentric rings. In his hand, he dragged one of the League's assassins by the throat. The shadow writhed and kicked helplessly until he went limp, and the masked man dropped him like trash.
"Who dares—!" Ra's snapped, rising to his feet.
Talia instantly drew twin daggers from her sleeves, and Slade unsheathed the massive sword from his back. Two hidden assassins lunged from the corners of the room, blades flashing.
The masked man didn't even flinch.
He sidestepped the first strike with ease, drove a kick into the attacker's face—teeth shattered and scattered across the floor. Before the sword could fall, he caught it mid-air, turned, and parried the second attacker's slash in one smooth motion. The counter was a brutal stab through the foot, a knee to the chin, and then he grabbed the man by the collar and hurled him into the two others charging from behind.
They collided with a sickening crunch.
Ra's now stood armed with a sword, flanked by Talia and Slade on either side. His eyes narrowed, studying the intruder's movements.
"Talia, go—find the boy and leave," Ra's ordered, his tone sharp. "We've been infiltrated. Slade, we make our final stand here."
He had seen enough in that brief exchange. The masked man was no ordinary opponent he was skilled, precise… and notably, he hadn't gone for the kill. That meant he wanted something.
"I'll ask once more," Ra's said, raising his blade. "Who are you?".
The masked man tilted his head slightly.
"My name," he said, voice calm and low behind the mask, "is Pain."
Ra's al Ghul's eyes narrowed. "What is your intention for this attrocity?"
Pain's response was calm and calculated. "To give you a choice: join me in ushering a new era of a better world, or die tonight along with everyone in this room."
Ra's snarled, "I've heard enough!" He charged towards Pain, flanked by Slade, as Talia made a move towards the exit. Pain's gaze never wavered.
With a swift motion, Ra's slashed his blade towards Pain's throat. But Pain effortlessly grabbed the sword with one hand, and a metallic clang rang out as he crushed it. Before Ra's eyes, Pain punched him in the chest, sending him flying across the room. Ra's ribs broke, and he crashed into the wall, gasping in pain as he slid down.
Slade, witnessing the attack's failure, pulled out his gun and started firing at Pain. But Pain merely faced his palm towards Slade, and it transformed into a cannon. A thick, purple laser beam struck Slade in the chest, blasting him out of the building through the walls.
Pain vanished and reappeared a moment later, dragging an unconscious Talia and Damian. He threw them at Ra's feet, who had a hand to his chest and was breathing hoarsely.
Ra's looked up at Pain, his eyes filled with a mix of pain and curiosity. "Who... exactly... are you?".
Pain revealed his face, pulling off his mask. Ra's eyes widened in shock as he took in
Pain's features. "How are you alive? And those eyes...".
Pain replaced his mask, his voice taking on a reflective tone. "I died that day when Bell Reeve was destroyed by Tobi. I saw the suffering of people beyond the plane of the living, and I was brought back to life with a purpose. to end all the suffering. When I was reborn, Floyd Lawton or Deadshot, as you may have known was gone. Only the pain I had inflicted on the innocents while I was alive remained."
Pain's gaze intensified. "Many think the world needs saving, but it doesn't. This world only needs fixing. My goal is to fix the corrupt and broken system that feeds the rot of this world while also promoting the birth of scum. This is an enormous goal that will require resources and manpower to achieve, which is why I'm here. Join me, and you'll be responsible for the new era of a better world I'm going to usher in. Repent yourself from all the atrocities you've committed in the past five hundred years you've lived by joining me, or die along with your legacy."
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"What were the leaders from the other villages called?" Thena asked curiously.
"The leader of Sunagakure was called the Kazekage. For Iwagakure, it was the Tsuchikage. Kirigakure had the Mizukage, and Kumogakure had the Raikage." Max explained, then added, "Notice something about all the names?".
Thena tilted her head. "Yes… they're all in the same language, right?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly referring to that," Max said with a small grin, "but you're right. Everyone spoke one language in my world which was Japanese. Racism didn't exist between nations — only between clans, mostly out of jealousy."
"Jealousy? Why?" Thena asked.
"Because the major clans had what we called Kekkei Genkai — or Bloodline Limits," Max said. "Like the Uchiha clan, who possessed the Sharingan."
Her eyes widened. "Wait, there were other special eyes besides the Sharingan and the Rinnegan?"
"Oh, definitely," Max nodded. "There was the Byakugan, the Tenseigan, the Ketsuryūgan, and a few others. But most bloodlines weren't ocular — they were elemental. Stuff like Lava Release, Scorch Release, and many more. I'll go into detail tomorrow during your training."
"Wow…" Thena breathed, eyes wide with wonder.
"Pretty wild, right?" Max said, smirking. "Anyway, back on track. Even though Madara and Hashirama built their village — and others soon followed — Madara knew peace wouldn't last after their time."
He leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing slightly. "Hashirama himself reinforced that idea when he captured all the tailed beasts and distributed them among the villages as a so-called balance of power. He gave the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails to Kumogakure, the One-Tail to Sunagakure, the Three and Six-Tails to Kirigakure, the Four and Five-Tails to Iwagakure, the Seven-Tails to a smaller village called Takigakure… and the Nine-Tails remained in Konoha."
Max's tone grew slightly heavier. "He considered the Nine-Tails too dangerous for the other villages. Konoha was the only one with the means to suppress it if things went south. Each of these tailed beasts was sealed inside a human host — people known as Jinchūriki".
End of chapter